Scott Shepherd
03-01-2007, 12:38 PM
I'm still wet behind the ears on all of this laser stuff, and I'm working night and day to figure it all out, but right now, I'm stumped.
I have one customer who's signs are all burgundy. Well, that in itself is a nightmare, since IPI doesn't make reverse engraveble burgundy (at least not in my catalog, and the small amount we use doesn't justify having them make it for us), Rowark's is a different tint than the non-laserable IPI that we've used for a long time on the rotary. Not to mention the use of GravoTac ADA burgundy.
All in all, 4 "burgundy" materials, all different and all slightly different in color which is more than visible to the naked eye.
Believe it or not, that's not the main problem. The main problem is reverse engraving this burgundy is anything but a pleasure to deal with. I think I've made about every sign I have done twice, or even three times to get one good one each time due to grain issues.
I use the same settings for the black reverse that works well, and I've bumped the power/speed up and down and even focused the laser out of focus by as much as 1/16" of an inch further away from the work.
For some reason, the burgundy seems to have a grain to it that no matter what, I can't make go away.
Am I missing something here, or is this just a given for certain colors? It's Rowmark burgundy. I even found a thread from the past where someone gave the settings for using the non-laserable burgundy. I tried that too. It had massive grain as well.
I have one customer who's signs are all burgundy. Well, that in itself is a nightmare, since IPI doesn't make reverse engraveble burgundy (at least not in my catalog, and the small amount we use doesn't justify having them make it for us), Rowark's is a different tint than the non-laserable IPI that we've used for a long time on the rotary. Not to mention the use of GravoTac ADA burgundy.
All in all, 4 "burgundy" materials, all different and all slightly different in color which is more than visible to the naked eye.
Believe it or not, that's not the main problem. The main problem is reverse engraving this burgundy is anything but a pleasure to deal with. I think I've made about every sign I have done twice, or even three times to get one good one each time due to grain issues.
I use the same settings for the black reverse that works well, and I've bumped the power/speed up and down and even focused the laser out of focus by as much as 1/16" of an inch further away from the work.
For some reason, the burgundy seems to have a grain to it that no matter what, I can't make go away.
Am I missing something here, or is this just a given for certain colors? It's Rowmark burgundy. I even found a thread from the past where someone gave the settings for using the non-laserable burgundy. I tried that too. It had massive grain as well.